i and love and you
by ember53608
Summary: you and me, we flew. [blank period.]


This is going up on my Tumblr today or tomorrow at _rvkemeadows_ , just FYI!

Please read and review!

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Hanabi doesn't expect him to make an appearance. Or, maybe she does, but not this quickly.

Kou offers the younger Hyuuga sister an amused look as she passes by, but Hanabi is careful not to do more than smile. Naruto's eagerness in regards to all things concerning her sister is an easily laughable thing, but in a good way. His open and endless love for Hinata Hyuuga brings a smile and affectionate laughter to almost anyone's face, sometimes even Hiashi's.

"Naruto-nii," Hanabi greets, opening the door wide to a restless and pacing blond of twenty. Naruto has one hand on his neck and the other in his pocket, but his feet trace and retrace a short stretch of three meters across the Hyuugas' porch. When Hanabi touches a hand to his shoulder, he turns in a wild blur, blue eyes flashing bright as they pass her gaze.

"H-hey!" he stutters out, and the rounds of his cheeks nearly crimson. Hanabi gives her sister's boyfriend a minute to settle, the smile that once pulled at her lips now seconds from tearing into a laugh. "Sorry," she manages to say, "I didn't mean to startle you."

Naruto gives her a look, then replies, "I'm not sure whether I believe you on that."

"Well, if you want, you can take your time in deciding, _or—"_ Hanabi idly waves a hand in the open door's direction, promptly rerouting his train of thought to the task at hand. Naruto nods, pats his palms on the front of his shirt, then ruffles her hair affectionately before passing by to the main hall.

A number of Hyuuga clansmen acknowledge him as he passes by, though few can hide their surprise at his arrival. For someone whose eyes are so set on the position of Hokage, Naruto happens to be oddly liberal with his daily activities. Interruptions in his routine are irritably common, yet he never makes a complaint nor bats an eye.

And although he did happen to be in the middle of going over intel from his latest mission with Sakura and Sai, he's glad that Konohamaru barged in nonetheless. There are things— _people,_ more specifically—that in recent years have come to be of immense importance to him.

And Hinata, light-filled wonder that she is, happens to be one of them.

"Hey," Naruto murmurs, a soft look settling over his eyes as he walks into her bedroom.

Hinata barely pulls her head from the stack of pillows underneath it, her eyelids fluttering as she takes in his presence. For the past week, the imminent Hyuuga heiress has been bedridden with a nasty cold and fever, and what with Naruto on-mission during that week and more, this makes the first time he's seen her since.

"You're back," she croaks, holding out her hand for him to take. Naruto passes a gentle kiss across the knuckles, then wraps them in his fingers. The stool once occupied by Hanabi rests empty for him to take, and he pulls himself to Hinata's beside, eyes roving over her blanketed figure.

Most of his girlfriend's body is hidden underneath at least three layers pulled up to her chin; above that lies a pale face flushed crimson and dotted with sweat. Hinata's head rises and falls slowly as she takes shuddering breaths, the wet cloth on her forehead threatening to slip off.

"Ino couldn't do anything about this?" Naruto asks. He takes the band and squeezes it dry, then drenches it anew before returning it to its place.

Hinata manages a small shift of her head. "Only a little," she answers.

Naruto frowns, unsatisfied.

The unavoidable limitations on healers have never been more apparent than in moments like this. While Sakura can certainly aid in things like blood clotting and reparation of broken bones, she or Ino or any nin, really, can do no more for Hinata than offer medicine and a cooling band.

The collateral damage of their conflicts is sometimes so large and so vivid that Naruto forgets about the little things, about how a cough or a cold can control a person as much as an injured limb given the right circumstances. He strokes a thumb along Hinata's hairline, losing himself to a little contemplation.

The follow-up on his team's mission is, for the most part, a non-hassle issue. The fact that Kakashi let him leave their intel overview without so much as an ounce of hesitation is proof of that. If things continue to run as smoothly as they have in the past two years, then Naruto should have a few weeks to himself before another mission comes up.

His hours that go towards eventual ascension as Hokage can wait, too, especially if being Hokage means having a healthy Hinata at his side.

"I'm staying the night," he says suddenly, and Hinata's eyes stretch wide.

"No, you can't—" she begins.

Naruto demands, "Why not?"

She turns her head just slightly, a smile pulling her lips. The amusement over the truth glimmers in her eyes, and Naruto stomachs a quiet grumble.

To say that Hiashi approves of their relationship is true. To say that Hiashi approves of _every aspect_ of their relationship, however, is another story. As far as the head of the Hyuuga clan is concerned, his daughter hasn't traded more than a few kisses and lip locks with her boyfriend. A bed and sheets minus any and all clothes—that's never entered the picture, or at least not in his eyes.

Hinata tries to laugh as Naruto heaves a hefty sigh, but the bubbly mirth cuts into a surprised yelp when he moves over her to join her under the covers. Even though the door to her bedroom stands barely ajar, the fact doesn't offer her much consolation. Her face heats more than it already has as Naruto curves his body towards hers, and she whispers urgently, "Naruto-kun, what—"

"We should get married."

They're the last words she expects from a conversation like this.

"What?" she echoes, breath nearly having left her.

Naruto brings up the hand he'd kissed before and laces their fingers together, holding tight. His legs tangle intentionally with hers further down, the golden hairs that tickle her thighs sending shivers up her spine. Hinata resists the urge to close the distance and kiss him; she figures that she's infected him to a significant degree already.

The stare he fixes her with is intent, and Hinata is reminded that Naruto Uzumaki only ever lives life in fast pace and shameless honesty. "So I can take care of you," he says, and the words nearly bring tears to her eyes.

Only Naruto could view things as such—and only his view could be so beautiful.

To discover that he wanted to put her name on that paper from all those years ago, it had been overwhelming. Hinata had felt herself fill with happiness to the brim. In that sky-soaring moment where he carried her to the moon and beyond, she had never thought they could go any higher. Their place in the air had felt infinite.

And yet, here they are, tied to a bed and tied to each other, and she feels like they're _flying._

"I—" she starts, but mortal words fail her.

Naruto smiles, a beatific smile that comes to life with his sky blues. "Let's get married," he repeats, only this time it's different. There's no thought of possibilities, only promises—

 _Let's._

—and the there's a flash of their future that glimmers in his eyes—

 _Let's._

—and Hinata thinks, what a long way they've come, from the agony and the fear—

 _Let's._

—from their world starved of love; what a long way—

"Let's."


End file.
